Mack, I did have a car break down. 17 years ago. If basically every vessel has been pulled out of service recently I'm curious about how you can claim 'the SSA is doing a great job." Many of these vessels had planned maintenance over the winter, so in theory all should be set to go this Spring. Maybe if one, or even two, broke down I could understand. Doing great? No, I don't think so. And perhaps I like living here, not in Hyannis.

Of course safety is highly important. But reliability and credibility is, too. The boats haven't been reliable lately, and SSA management is losing its credibility.

Everyone knows things break, that is ok, we understand. The issue for me is that the SSA did not take care of those traveling during this period of flux. If you had a reservation and your boat was cancelled, you were stuck even if the next boat came in 10 minutes later. Makes no sense. I get you cannot get everyone on board at once, but at least filter in the cars as much as possible. Some were stuck for 6-7 hours, missing appointments, missing time with family, etc. Perhaps if the SSA would have discounted their ticket or offered free passenger tickets to the stuck passengers (like airlines) that would have been better. Instead I think the real failure here is the communication and concern for their customer base. They are a monopoly and monopolies are rarely ever a good thing. Things happen, as I stated we all understand, but treat your customers as they should be treated, not as cattle for you to milk as you please! Something goes wrong, do something to make it right.

I agree. The SSA does a fantastic job. The residents should applaud their record and not beat them up . Take a reality pill.

I moved here 41 years ago, Mack. I used to know most of the crews, captains, and even a fair number of managers at the SSA. Over the years that friendliness has changed. I'm still me, but the SSA has changed, and not for the better. I would even say they're aloof and don't really want to engage with us passengers. Free concessions for being trapped at sea into the wee hours of the night? Sorry, I can't be bought that easily. Safe, reliable service, thank you, is what I'd like. SSA management has burned through a lot of goodwill this year. Their inability to communicate/give updates in any timely fashion (meaningful website/facebook/twitter posts that are current) is a travesty. From a technology perspective the SSA feels stuck in the 70's; unfortunately from a customer-centric perspective the SSA has become like a cable company.